Improved sluice-gate foe dams oe looks



@uiten fatrs gatwt @frn FELIX i R. BRUN OT, 0F ALLEGHENY, -PEN NSYLVANIA. Letters Patent No. 69,070, datediiS'cptemZzer 24, 1867.

IMPROlED SLUIGE-GATE FOR DAMS 0R LOCKS.

4 @be tlgthule nemh to in time Entert ntcnt mit mating nrt nf ttt same.

T0 ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Y

Be it known that I, FELIX R. BnuNoT,"of Allegheny city, in the county ofAllegheny,` and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Sluice-Gates for Locks, Dams, and otherHydraulicStructures; and I do hereby declare thc following to be a full, clear,and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification, which represent myimprovement p as a lied to the formation of a chute or sluice-wa in adam for the slack-water 'im rovement of a navi able PP y P g i stream;the necessary modiiications for adapting my invention to other purposes,such asi docks, tide-water improvements, and the like, being such as areeasily made by those who are skilled in engineering. In the` drawings,which are in two sheots- Y Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section of a damfurnished with my sluice-gate, the section being made through the chuteJr sluicc.

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the pier or crib at one end ofthe chute or sluice-way, the plane of section being parallel to that ofHg. 1. i

Figure 3 is a perspective representation oi' my sluice-gate. Figure 4 isa longitudinal vertical section through the dam, sluice-way, andsluice-gate. i (Figs. 3 and 4 are broken through the middle for thepurpose merely of reducing thelength of the iigures.) Figure 5 isarepresentation oi' trap-gate for closing the recesses in the piers. Inthe several figures like letters of reference denote similar parts.

-The accompanying drawing represents one of the various applications ofmy invention; and "to enable others skilled in the art to construct anduse my improvement, I will proceed to describe it as applied to a dam`used for creating a lock navigation in a river. A

In such improvements it frequently happens that, by reason of a Hood orfreshet, the' water in the stream rises so high that, were the comb (orhighest point) of the dam lowered a few feet, boatscould easily pass upand down, there being suicient water to render the use of a lockunnecessary. When this occurs the locks prove a hindrance to navigationduring the time of the freshet, and it becomes verydesirable-to providesome means of lowering the crib of the dam until the water falls so muchas to rendernecessary a resort to the locks.

As the sluice-way or passage thus opened' in thc dam requires to be as`wide as possible, in order te afford free passage for boats, rafts, andother craft, the gate must necessarily be long, say from one to twohundred feet, and the diiiiculty of constructing a gate of suh a lengthof the requisite strength, whichushall be readily lowered and raised intimes of high water, has heretofore been found insuperable. Myimprovement is designed to eii'ect the desired object and surmount theattendent diiiiculties,rwhich I accomplish in the following manner;`

In the drawing, g. 1, A represents-c. dam made of crib-work and lledwith stone, set horizontally in the stream, at right angles to itsthread, and constructed in the usual manner, A sluice-way is made inthedam by removing the upper portion of the dam, from the comb or apex xto such depth as may be required to give,`

.together with the height of water above the comb of the dam, asufiieient channel for the passage of bouts. In`

the drawing the dept-hoi` sluice-way from :l: to y is three and a halffeet, which, when there areiivefeet of water over the comb ofthe dam,gives about eight feet of water in the channel. The length of thisdepression in the dam may be one or two hundred feet, more or less,according to the requirements of `the navigation. At either end of thisdepression or sluice-way is a pier, B, raised to the height of the wallsof the loclg` or above thelevel` of ordinary high `water. The abutmentof the dam, or one of the walls of the lock, may serve as Vone of thesepiers. The surface of the sluice-way is sheetcd with plank a. Below thesurface of the `sluice-way, and` extending from one pier B to the otherB', is u. chamber, C, made in the'crib-work `oi'fthe dam, to receive thes1uice-gate D. The dam and piers muy, if preferred, be built of stone,but if of crib-work, `with loose stone filling, as represented, thebottom `and sides of the chamber C are lined with plank, so as to bewatertight. In one or both of these piers B and B is a recess, E E',extending from the level of the bottom of the chamber C to the top ofthe pier, forming a pit o1' well which may beV covered on top or leftopen, but ofsuch size and so constructed as to give ready access to thevalves and other apparatus for operating the sluic`e-gate D. The

sluiccgate chamber C opens at each erld into the bottom of the recessesE E, the front of" the recesses being tightly closed by the timber andplanking, (sce iig. 4,) excepting where'the gate enters and fora spaceabove the top of the gato suliicient to allow it to risa-j. the openingin the front wallet` the recesses, above the levelj-of the gate D, beingof the shape oi' a sector of a circle, the centre of which is at ernear. the heel-'post e of the f" sluice-gatei The 'sluicgate is a hollowwater-tight vessel, inode of sheet iron or wood, or a combination ofthose articles., which may be braced internally or externally, as may benecessary to give the requisite strength.` 'At the rear edge, near thetop of the gate, is placed the heel-post c, which works in a quoinframed in the dam arid sot horizontally lengthwise of the dam at thelevel of, the floor @of the sluicc-way, asshown in fig. 2. The back walltl el' the gato D is sloped, so as lo give a prcpoiulorance of areaforward ot' the middle of the gate, so as te relieve the strain en theduoin or heel-post caused by the buoyancy of the gate when surroundedwith water, and so as to piace the centre of flotation of the gate intheproper position, parallel with its axis or centrev ol-` motion, or suchVother shape may be adopted as will seein best. The front wall e of thegate is curved to the shape el' the are of a circle, having its centrein the heel-post or centre of mot-ien of the gate D, so that as the gateD rises, turning on its heel-post c, the front wall e ot the gate mayremain in contact with the wallf ot' the chamber C, thus preventing thepassage of water out of the chamber. When the'gato D has risen to theposition shown by dotted lines in iig. 1 its upper front corner :1, isat the saine height as the comb a: of the dam, and it is prevented fromrising further by the front wallb of the recess E in the piersa It isalso further restrained by the stops g g (formedv el' angle iron)fastened to the front lower corner of the gate, which stops pressagainst a plate, L., bolted to thewallf ci the chamber C, shown in iig.2'.' .For the stops g g may be substituted a Y single strip ofangle-iron, which` when the gate is raised, will also servo the purposeof making a close `joint by pressing against the plate Zz. At each endof the gate D is a flop, 7c, (sec iigs. 2 and ef the shape of a sector,which projects upwards from the top of the gato, and being so placed :isto rest against the sheeting inside of the front wall Zi of the recess Ein the piers, serves to close the triangular opening in tho pier wallwhen the gate is down and prevent the passage of water inte the recessesin that direction. At one end of the gate (see figs. 3 and d) there is awater-tight valve, z', operated by a rod, n., to admitk water into thegate D from the chamber C, A similar valve or valves may, in practice,be placed also at the other end. There is also placed at one end (er atboth ends if prei'erred) of the gato D a standing pipe, F, open at top,and communicatingat bottom with the interior of the gate; also a pump,G, by which the gate may be emptied if it becomes lled with water. Thepipe F is of such height that when the water rises suliiciently in theriver to make it proper to lower the sluice-gate D it will overilow themouth of the pipe, ill the gate, and cause it tosink automatically. Thechamber C communicates with the water ot'V the river in the' upper andlower `lpools by the pipes or trunks Il H', one end of each of whichopens into the chamber C yat the level et its lloor inside the piers,while the other end el' the lower trunk ll opens intov the lower pool atany point below the bottom of the chamber, while the upper end oi' theupper trunk H opens into the upper pool at any point beyond and belowthe level of the comb of the dam. These trunks are closed ,by valves 0rwickets Z Z", operated to open or close at pleasure by the rods nzv mwhich extend to thel top of the pier through the recesses E E, as seenin fig. 4. The constructien, size, and arrangement of the trunks andvalves `will of course be varied according to the circumstances and therequirements of special eases. The recesses E E may be furnished with agate or trap,p, (see Eg. 5,) situated as to close the recesses andprevent the passage of water upward above tliellevel of such door whenclosed, and thus make the chamber C water-tight for the purpose ofraising the gate D, even when iilled with water, (its val-fe beingopen,) by the pressure oi.' the water from the upper pool of the riverapplied beneath the gate. h ese trapsp should be capable of beingfastened down in order to resist the-upward pressure of the water in thechamber C, and may be opened and closed. by a toothed arc, r, andpinion, q, (as shown in fig. 5,) or by sorne other suitable device.

The operation of my sluice-gatc thus constructed is as follows: When itis desired to lower the gate so as to open the sluice-way in the dam, ifthe backswater or water inthe lower level of the stream is notmaterially above the bottom of the chamber C, the upper wicket Z isclosed and the lower wicket Zl is opened, which shuts off the water fromentering the chamber C from above the dam, and allows the water toescape from the chamber through the trunk H and valve Zl into the lowerpool. he gate D, having then nothing to supportit, drops down into thechamber C, assuming the'pesition shown in tig. 1, and opening thesluicc-way in the dam. If this should not be attended to before thewater rises too high in the lower pool to allow the chamber C to beemptied, the valve z' may be opened to allow the water from the chamberto enter the cavity of the gate; or as soon as the waterin the upperpool rises above the top of the standing pipo F the gate D will becomefilled and will sink by its own weight. As soon as the water in theriver falls so low as to render it advisable to raise the gate, and thusrestore the dam to its proper height, it is eected by reversing thewickets Z and Z and .shutting the lower wicket Z and opening the upperone, Z, when the water from the upper pool will fill the chamber C andcause the hollow' gate D to rise by its own buoyancy, unless it hasbeenfilled with water in order to sink e iit, in which case, the lowerwicket Z being'left open, the water is run out of the gato D by raisingthc valve z',

which is closed again before water is admitted into the chamber C forthe purpose of raising the gate. If it should be desired to raise thesluiee-gates while the water is too high in the lower pool to allow thechamber C f1 being supplied, this may be effected by emptying the gate Dof water by means ofthe pump G, the lower wicket Z to the trunk H beingelos'e'd to prevent the gate sinking when the river falls. Another modeof raising the gate D when lled with water is to shut and fasten downthe trapspp iii the recesses E E', which close the only exit for waterfrom the chamber C, and then, by opening the wicket Z of the upper trunkll, the head of water entering the chamber C, pressing on the bottom andrear side of the gate D, raises it up and sustains it in an elevatedposition. The mode of raising and lowering the gate by pumping it out,or filling it with water through the valve t', is resorted to whenever'there is'but little fall from the upper to the lower pool, or when sthere is dead water. The wickets Z Z and pump G and valve t' may beworked from either end of the sluice-gate, a

the apparatus being duplicated and placed at both ends for that purpose.llhesc valves and wickets may also lle,

be made self-acting by means of fioats connected with the valves in thehollow gate and the wickets `of the water-trunks H II. t t y It will beobserved that the principles depended upon for the operation of the gateare its buoyancy` as a i water-tighttvessel, when iilled with air, toraise it, and the gravity of the vessel and ofthe waterwithn it` when itis filled with water in order to lower it, forces which, so long as theapparatus `is kept in, order-,cannot fail in t r their operation. Thegreat length and weight of the gate present noserious diiiieulty, asthis is counteracted by the buoyancy ofthe contained air, s o that thereis more fear of the gate saggingupwardsiin the middle than downwards.This tendency may, however, be easily counteracted by means of the stops`before mentioned.

My improvement is also applicable to various other purposes in hydraulicarchitecture, a few of which I will name. By the use of two or moregates, one placed at each end of the piers, foi-ming the sidesot'` the,i sluice-way in the dam, they may serve all the purposes of a lift-lockin time of high "water, and be'droppedout t of the way when the river isnavigable without such help;V or two dams may be used, `with asluiee-gate in each,`

for such a purpose. Or, on the other hand, an ordinary lift-lock may beconverted into a sluice-way by the use` of such a sluiee-gatc as Ihavedescribed placed in the bottom or breast-wall of the lock.l l It mayalsobc used for wiers `in canals or reservoirs, st-opgates, Hood-gates,tide-gates, and for all similar purposes.

As a modification of construction of suchl sluice-gates, especially`when used inloclis, I may state that the` gato may be made solid, likethe leaf of an ordinary lock-gate, and the power to` raise it be appliedby oats or f buoys attached thereto at each end, but outside the chamberof the lock, the gate being laid horizontally across `l` i the chamber.The gate may also be made to rise and fall perpcndicularly in grooves inthe lock-wall, so as` to ,i t

sink into a pit below the floor of the lock and be raised by buoys oroats, as before mentioned.

Although I have described the heel-post of the gate, on which it turns,vas placed up stream, which I con-,v Sider better, because it gives thepressure ofthe pool to aid in lowering it, and because vessels and otherthings passing down stream would not be so likely to injure the gate ifthey attempted to pass over it when raised, yet` t this is notnecessary, and the position of the gate may be reversed, so as to havethe heel-post down stream.

Having thus described my improvement, what rI claim as my invention, anddesire to secure by Letters u, i

Patent, isy 1. In a sluiee-way in a dam, doek, lock, or other hydraulicstructure, a hollowsluice-gate furnishediwitha Valve or valves for theadmission or exit of water, and so placed in a chamber ortreeess inthe.sluice-way,` lock, i or other structures, furnished with apparatusfor admitting the head of water into the chamber under the gate t y oremptying the chamber of water, as to raiscior lower the gate atpleasure, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.i

2. The standing pipe, open at any required height, for the admission ofwater into` the `sluice-gatc, in eomt hina-tion with the hollow'sluice-gate or float into 'which the pipe opens,constructed` andoperating substantially l as described, for the purpose of closing orlowering the sluice-gate automatically at the requiredstagc` of water,as hereinbei'ore set forth. Y y t i 43. The gates for sluices, docks,locks, and other hydraulic structures, `in combinationfwith hollowoats,so constructed with valves for the admission or exit of water as toraise and lower or open and `elosc'the gatesat` I pleasure, in themanner substantially as hereinbefore described and for the purposes setforth.`

In testimony whereof I, the said FELIX R. BRUNOT, have hereunto set myhand. t

FELIX n. cRUNoT.

Witnesses:

A. SfNrcnoLsoN, GEO. II. CHRISTY.

